In the case where an electric motor is used as a power source for vehicles, the electric motor needs a control device (an inverter in the case of an AC electric motor) for control thereof. Since the control device such as inverters, etc. is connected to the electric motor by way of power cable, it can be arranged in an appropriate position apart from the electric motor. For the convenience for a car-mounted arrangement, there is in some cases adopted an arrangement, in which the control device is united with the electric motor.
By the way, control devices in current technology are lower in heat-resistant temperature than electric motors. Hereupon, in the case where a control device is to unite with an electric motor in the above-mentioned manner, certain means that cuts off direct heat conduction from the electric motor to the control device is needed in order to protect the control device. Also, since the control device is raised in temperature due to heat generation by its elements, cooling is necessary in order to maintain the control device at the heat-resistant temperature thereof or lower.
Under such situation, the pamphlet of International Publication No. 98/28833 conventionally proposes an electric motor united with a control device, in which a groove is formed on an outer periphery of a stator body of the electric motor and a bottom plate mounting thereon a module of the control device closes an opening side of the groove to provide a cooling path. In this technique, a cooling flange is formed to extend into the groove on a side of the bottom plate.
Also, a similar technique to the above one is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,370. The technique adopts a construction, in which a spiral passage for flowing of a cooling fluid is formed on an outer periphery of a housing of an electric motor and an IGBT module (inverter component) is mounted to a sleeve that is externally mounted on the housing in a manner to cover an opening surface side of the passage.
Hereupon, with the conventional construction of the former technique, since formation of the cooling flange leads to enlargement of a heat exchange area on a side of the bottom plate that mounts thereto the module, cooling on a side of the module is expedited but cooling on a side of the stator body is not necessarily adequate since a heat exchange area is defined by an area of the groove bottom surface. Accordingly, with such construction, for the purpose of preventing heat on the side of the stator body from being transferred to the module side via the cooling flange, it is required that a tip end of the cooling flange be made apart to some extent from the groove bottom surface of the stator body and the heat insulation effect by a cooling fluid be ensured by a gap therebetween. And, in the case where such gap is made large, the effect of the cooling flange as a flow passage guide is decreased.
On the other hand, with the latter technique, since it is difficult to ensure a sufficient area, in which the sleeve contacts with the cooling fluid, there is a need of increasing the flow rate of a cooling fluid flowing through the spiral path in order to adequately cool inverter components, in which case a pump, etc. for circulation of the cooling fluid becomes large in size and so energy for driving thereof is increased. Also, with the technique, since a tip end of the wall that defines the spiral path is brought in direct contact with the sleeve, heat conduction is caused at such contact region, so that in order to maintain the inverter components at the heat-resistant temperature thereof or lower, there is a need of cooling that lowers temperature of the housing of the electric motor substantially to such temperature, which is not efficient in terms of cooling efficiency.
The invention has been thought of taking account of such conventional techniques, and has its main object to ensure a maximum heat radiation area for a refrigerant within a limited cooling space in a drive unit, in which an inverter is united with an electric motor, while restricting heat conduction from the electric motor to the inverter. Subsequently, it is a further object of the invention to expedite flow of a refrigerant by means of heat radiation means within the cooling space to enhance the cooling capacity.